![]() It may also be possible that you’re looking in the wrong county. There are also the state censuses, which are not conducted in the same year as the federal census. Many cities kept their own directories, backed by private enterprises, that listed the residents and their addresses. If that’s the case, there are other helpful records to try. It may also give their occupation, and whether the head of household rents or own the home, and the value of the property.Ĭensus records are the most popular documents in tracing family history, but sometimes for one reason or another, you may not find your family in census records. The census lists the individuals living in the household – even relatives, servants, farmhands – and provides their name, age, gender, and birthplace. Many people start their research with census records. The purpose of using a census record is to discover and validate where the person lived and who is in the family. The person that died is not filling out the form, of course, so the information comes from the person who is providing the information on the deceased’s behalf. It is important to keep in mind that while the death certificate can provide plenty of helpful hints, it is not always accurate and reliable. The birth record will reveal more information to lead you down the right ancestral line. Once you have the clues from the death record, you can narrow your research! Search birth records by date, in the county of the birth. There will likely be a fee (which varies by state and/or county), and you may have to provide proof that you are related to the person whose record you are requesting due to privacy laws.Ī death record will provide many clues about the individual: the names of parents, spouse, residence and and where they were buried, their occupation, religion, and even cause of death. In the U.S., death records are kept on a state-by-state basis therefore, some are available online and others require you to mail in a request to receive a copy of the death certificate. For this reason, death records are much more common than birth records. The most recent record of an individual will be the death record. This goes back to working in reverse chronological order. This information can provide a place to start. Older generations may know the occupations that family members held, where they are buried, and they may have other stories that you can search for in historical newspapers. This may uncover leads for you to research further. ![]() If you should be so lucky, speak to the family member who started tracing the family history or get a copy of his or her research. Be sure to ask your family members whether anybody has already started researching the family history this can eliminate duplicating work that may already be done. This step appears to be easy, but can pose a possible setback if you have relatives who aren’t particularly chatty. The best approach is to simply start with yourself and work from the present day to the past.Īncestry® Library Edition has ancestral chart forms that you can download to help you while filling in your family tree. You don’t want to spend a lot of time researching only to find that you were tracing the wrong John Smith. It is even more critical to work backward if your family surname is common. ![]() ![]() Many people want to start their research with a family member who was a Civil War soldier, or something similar, but that could lead you down the wrong line of descent. When you’re getting started, one of the most important things to remember is to work backwards. Bill has led many initiatives to educate librarians in their service to genealogy patrons and the following are his expert tips on how to begin tracing your family tree. William Forsyth oversees ProQuest’s expansive line of digital family history resources, and has dedicated more than 30 years of experience to building high-quality genealogy subscription products for librarians. But navigating through the volume of resources may be a bit daunting, especially when you are trying to figure out where to begin.īecause October is Family History Month, we took the opportunity to tap our very own genealogy expert for his tips on researching your family history. ProQuest historical content and datasets help in researching your family history. The rise in easily searched resources that are available online has made the emotional quest of uncovering the stories of your family history increasingly popular.
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